Toy vehicle



July 2s, 1925. Y 1,547,516

c.. l. NEFF TOY VEHICLE Filed Sept,l 11, 1'S92.l 3 Sheets-Sheet (l i l l I www. WWW ,u

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C. J. NEFF TOY VEHICLE Julyzs,192s. 1 1,541,516

i Filed sept..11, 1922 s sheetssheet uw ,7 7 @1115. A a ff ml lwi y f I l t; W INU" I' 14H11 UV lbf l? 20 /7 fig! 'Patente-a .tulp 2s, 192s.

. cnanLnse. Narr, or SANDUSKY, 01110./`

TOY VEHICLE.

Application 'ma september 11, 1922. serial' ma. 597,497.

I To all 'whom trmy concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. NEFF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sandusky, in the county of Erie and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useulImprovements-in To Vehicles,.of which the following is a speci cation.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in toy vehicles or wheeled toys,` and has for its object to Yprovide a device of .this character whichy embodies novel features of construction whereby 'an selected one of a series of toy bodies of di erent types can be mounted upon the supporting frame, thereby changing'the character and appearance of the toy.

llt Vis contemplated to provide'a number of toy bodies which are of dierent designs and can be applied interchangeably to a standard supporting frame or base. For

` instance, with a' supporting frame or base for a toy automobile there vmay be different designs of toy bodies simulating trucks, stages, coaches, pleasure cars and the like, all of which are adapted to be interchangeably applied to the base, and the child can change the character vof the toy automobile at will by mounting di'erent 4toy bodies upon the supporting'frame.

rlhere may also be different forms of supporting frames, and if the supporting frame i should happen vto be for a toy railroad car the interchangeable body `would be ofsuch a character that .the car could `be transformedat will into a freight car,A passenger car, stock car -or vthe like. Thevinvention has'an almost unlimited range of ada vtability, and in making the change the c ild is called uponrto manipulate or mechania feature which tends additionally toamuse the child and accordingly enhances the value of the toy.

l17V ith 4'the foregoingfand' other objects in view the invention consists in certain combinatidns and arrangements of the parts as will more vfully appear as lthe descri tion proceeds, the novel features thereof ingy .pointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of certain s "ecie embodiments of `the invention .re erence'is to be hadto the following descrip- Y tion and accompanying drawings, inxwhich, Fi

parts, and this isl .desired to adjust the toy re 1 is a side elevation off av toy autowith the invention and has a toy applied to the supportin frame. Figure 2is a bottom p an view of the construction shown by- Figure l. f

F'gure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the rear end of the toy taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail perspective view of the seat. L

Figure 5 is -a longitudinalsectional view through the toy showing another form of toy body as 'substituted for the toy truck bod thel forward end of the toy being bro en away. A i

Figure-6 is a detail view of one end of thel seeat, showing a modified construction thereo Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view taken on a line corresponding to the line 7-7 of Figure 5, and showing the modification illustra-ted by Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a perspective view showing a still further modification.`

Figure 9 is a side elevation of a toy railroad car embodying'the invention, a portion of one corner of the car being broken truck body away and shown in section'.

re 10 isa bottom plan view of the toy frei t car body which appears in Figurev 9, t e body being detached from the sup-VA Corresponding and like 'parts are referred l to in the following description and indicated on allof the views of the drawings by like reference characters.

Referring to Figures 1 to 7 of, the drawings, the reference character; A designates the supporting frame of a toy automobile. This supporting frame is mounted upon the front wheels l and rear running wheels 2'," an is shown 4as provided with conventional `mud guards 3 and running boards 4. Thefront axl`e 5 is pivoted at 6' so that it can be set at an angle when it is for running in a circle. f

So far as the present Yinvention is concerned it is immaterial whether or not the toy automobile is provided with any kind of a driving means.. As illustrated on the.

55f1rnobi e which is constructed' in; accordance-wheel 8 which mesheswith a pinion 9 on a I countershaft 10, said countershaft being in turn provided with a gear wheel 11 meshin l with a second pinion 12 on a shaft 13 whic is provided with an inertia wheel 14. This is a conventional and well known form of inertia wheel toy in which the inertiaJ wheel is positivelyY connected by s ur gearing to l the driving wheels, the inertla wheel being started in motion by forcibly moving the toy with the running wheels in engagement with a suitable surface, after which the toy 1s released and motion is transmitted from the inertia wheel to the driving wheels to propel the toy. Any other vform of power means may be substituted, or the supporting frame may be constructed entirely without any power means.

The top of the supporting frame A has an lextended and substantially flat surface B at the rear end thereof, as shown quite clearly by Figure 8, and the front of the frame may be provided with atoy radiator and hood cover construction, as indicated at 15. The seat 16 extends transversely of the supporting frame, beingprovided at its ends with downwardly extending` ears 17 which are received within ositionin slits 18 which are formed in t e top cfg the supporting frame at opposite sides thereof. Also, as indicated quite clearly by Figure 4, the back of the seat is provided at the upper edge thereof with a returned flange o r hooked edge portion 19. A' plate 20 at the bottom of the seat 16 is so' arranged as to Iitdirectly against the top of the Supportin frame A,A

and is formed with a rearward y opening notch 22 which is adapted to registerl with a Ilongitudinal slot 23 in the supporting `frame and cooperate with a headed bolt 24 to lock the seat removably in position.

The bolt 24 is slidable back and forth in y the slot 23 and is shown as provided at the bottom of the supportingframe with awin nut 25 which can be convenlentl when it is desired to tighten or oosen the bolt. yWhen the bolt is loosened and moved rearwardly `in the slot`23 the head thereof is disengaged from the plate 20' at the base of theseat 16, so that the seat can be lifted out;

of p'osition. 'On the other hand when the bolt'is moved tothe forward end 'of the slot 23 and tightenedsothat the side portions of the notch 22.are ipped by the heady of the bolt,the seat is c amped tightly in position.

The mouthofthe notch 22 1s preferably flared, as indicated on the drawings, to

Vfacilitate the movement of thebolt into the notch, and it will be understood that any conventional ty e of bolt or fastening member ma .be su stituted for the particular form o bolt which has been illustrated and described. i

A series of toy bodies are adapted to be used interchangeabl upon the supporting freine. The toy be' y C of Figures 1 and@ simulates the body of a motor truck, while the toy body D of Figure 5 'simulates the body of, a stage or passenger car. 'Many other styles of toy bodies may also be used,

and any selected one of the bodies may 7 be applied to the supporting frame and the character of the toy vehicle thereby completely transformed at will. The toy bodies C and D are each provided at their rear ends With transversely disposed depending flanges 26, which have the ends thereof returned at 26 so that they will hook over a depending lip 2T at the rear end of the supporting frame. The forward ends of the toy bodies are engaged by the seat 16 so that any one of the toy bodies is securely locked in position upon the supporting frame whenv it is applied thereto. 'lhe hooked upper edge portionl9 of the .seat 16 fits over an edge portion of the toy truck body C, as indicatedV quite clearly by Figure 3, and the front of the toy body D may be provided with a lip to interlock with. the hooked edge portion of the sea-t. It will -thusbe obvious that whenthe toy body has been applied to the suporting frame and the seat clamped in position by the bolt 24, the

`toy body is securely fastened to the supporting frame so that it is not liable to be displaced thereon when handling the toy.

-lateral projections or knobs 17'? which have ayielding action and are adapted to cooperate with the edges of the slits 18 to provide a s ring lock to hold the seat in position. T e sea-t' may be forcibly pressed into position or pulled out of position, although when the seat is in place, as indicated by Figure, 7, the projections 17a will have a *spring vengagement with the4 edges of the wil slits 18 and cooperate therewith to prevent accidental displacement of the seat.

,A further modification is 'shown by Figure 8, in which the slot 23b extends transversely of `the supporting frame A. The ytoy body E, which simulates a. truck body, is formed at one side thereof with depending hook members 29 adapted to enga e openings 30 at one side of the supporting ame, while the other side of the body is formed with a plate -.31 which 'fits against the top of the supporting frame and has a notch 32 therein corresponding to the beforementioned notch 22' or the like.

.- A, :Lucarnev bolt 24, and is movable back and forth iny the-slot 23h. When the bolt is caused to nage the notch 32 of the plate 31, the toy y E is securely clamped 1n -position'upon l the supporting frame, although when the bolt is loosened and moved to the inner end of the slot, so that it is disengaged from the notch 32, the toy body can be removed from the supporting frame. It willbe understood from the foregoing that the detachable and' interchangeable bodies may have an unlimited range of design, and that these toy bodies may be interchangeably secured to the supporting frame in any suitable manner, although each toy body is of a suitable size and has a proper base so that lit can' be tted upon the supporting frame and will in fact blend therewith and become an inherent part thereof, thereby completely transforming the appearance and character or the toy vehicle.

Figures 9, l and 11 illustrate a possible modification in which the invention is embodied in a toy railroad car. The supporting frame H of the car may be provided with the conventional Wheeled trucks 40, and may or may not be mounted to travel upon toy rails 4l. Many/,dilerent bodies may be interchangeably mounted upon this supporting frame H and the car thereby transformed into a freight car, passenger car, tank car base adapted to tit squarely upon the seat at the top of the supporting frame H. The toy freight car body J, which is shown by Figures 9 and 10 'for illustrative purposes, is pro` vided at one end thereof With a depending hooked portion 42 engaging a lip 43 at the corresponding end of the supporting frame rThe opposite end of the toy freight car body J is4 provided with a plate 44 which fits against the top of the supporting frame and has a notch 45 therein adapted to reg-- ister with a slot 46 in the supporting frame. A clamping bolt 47 issli'dable in this slot 46, so that it can Abe moved into and out of engagement with the notch 45 of the plate 44. This clamping bolt 47 operates, as in the previous instances, to cooperate with the hooked end 42 of the toy body to astenthe toy body securely-in position upon the supporting frame.

The invention can be embodied in any form of toy vehicle or wheeled toy. The interchangeable bodies of dilerent designs all have base portions which correspond to' the seat at thetop of the supporting frame and are adapted vto fit thereon, so thatfthe y design f thetoy body willblend or harmon-` ize with the design of the supporting-frame.v

Any'suitable means-may be providedfor detachably securing the toy bodies-in posi- 'llhe bodies would all have a said sary tov make theV change also tends to amuse Y the child and accordingly enhances the Value 'of the toy.

Having thus'described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters' Patent is,

1. A toy vehicle of the character described, including a'main'supporting chassis, a removable toy body adapted to'rest thereon, a separate and removable seat also adapted to rest thereon, means for detachably securing one only of said last mentioned members -to the chassis, and means on said member for detachably engaging the other member to hold it in position on the chassis. A

2. A toy vehicle of the character described, including a main supporting chassis, a removable toy body adapted-to rest thereon, a'separate and removable seat also adapt ed to rest thereon, means for securing one only of said last mentioned members to the chassis, A,and a. hook elementen one of said members arranged to detachably interlock. with the other of the said members and releasable by a movement of one of saidl mem bers relative to the other member, said movement being prevented by the securing of one of the members to 'the chassis. p,

3. A toy vehicle of the character described, including a main supporting chassis, a removable toy bodya separateand removable seat, means for securing one lonly of said last mentioned members .tothe chassis, and a hook element structurally yintegral with said member and carried by the said member for detachably engaging the other member to hold it in position on the chassis.

4. A toyv vehicle of the character d escribed, including a main supporting chassis, a removable toy bod on, a separate an removable seat also adapted to rest there-on, means for securing one' only of said last mentioned members to the chassis, positioning means on one of sald members for engaging the chassls, vanda 'hook element on one of said members for the other member, said hook element being releasable by' a movement of one member relative to the other member'and movement being prevented when one of the members is secured to thechassis. v

' 5. A toy vehicle including a mam su engaging porting' frame, a fastening member slidaby Vadapted to rest there- -a removable to mounted upon and carried by the support# ing frame, a removable toy body, and means cooperating with the fastening member one of its positions to hold the body inI el! sition on the supporting frame, the body eing released `whenl the fastening member 'is moved to another'position. Y

6. A toy vehicle including a main supporting frame, a fastening member slidably mounted thereon, a removable toy body, and a' notched member associated with the toy body and cooperating with the fastening member to hold the toy body in position upon Vthe supporting frame, the sliding movement ofthe fastening member enabling it to be shifted into and out of engagement with the notched member.

7. A toy vvehicle ofthe character described, includin amain supporting chassis,

od adapted to reststhereon, a separa 'e an removable seat also adapted to rest thereon, means for securing .the seat tothe chassis, and means on the seat for detachably engaging the body to hold it in operative position on the chassis.

8. A toy vehicle of the :character de scribed, includin .a main supportingchassis, a. removable toy ody adapted to rest thereon, a separate and removable seat adapted to rest t ereon, means for securing the 'seat 4to the chassis, and a hook member carried by the seat and openin toward the bottom thereof, said hook mem er-being adapted to releasably engage the body to hold the latter in operativeposition upon the chassis.-`

9. A toy vehicle including `a 'main supporting`frame,'a fastening member movably mounted thereon, a detachable toy body,

l and a detachable seat member having an int terlocking connection with the toy body and .-adapted to be engaged by the vfastening 'member tof secure the toy -body and seat member in frame. l

l0. A toy vehicle including a Vmain supporting frame, a removable `toy body, a separate seat member adapted to engagethe position upon the supporting toy body, means for detachablysecuring' the seat member to the-supporting frame,

and inde endent means for positioning the seat mem Yer upon thesupporting frame. p

11. A toy vehicle including a main sup.

portm rame,a detachable'toy body, a detachab e seat vmember engaging the toy v body, meansfor positioning the seat member on the supporting frame, andalocking member movably mounted 'upon' the support? ing frame and adapted to engage the seat, member in one ofits 'sitions. Y,

12. A toy vehicle 'including a main supporting'frame, afdetachable'toybody, a Vseatmember engagingthetoy body and-having a notched plate, and a; locking member slidabl mounted upon' the supportingl `frame an movable .intofand out o f engagement irrigareA Lith the said notched plate of the seat lmem- 14. A toy vehicle including a main supporting frame, a detachable toy body, a seat -member formed with a hooked portion adapted'to engage the toy body and having a notched plate atvthe base thereof, and 'a fastening member movably mounted upon the su porting-frame and shiftable into and out o engagement with the notched plate.

A toy lvehicle including a main sup-v 15. A toy vehicle including a mainsupporting frame, a detachable toy body, a Seat' member formed with a hooked ortion adapted to engage theto body and avin a notched plate at thev ase thereof, posigtioning means for centering the seat member upon the supporting frame, and a. faste ening member movably mounted upon thev supporting frame and shiftable into and out -l of engagement with thenotched plate of the 0 5 l seatmember. o 16. A toy vehicle including a main supporting frame,'a detachable toy body, a seat member formed with a hooked portion vadapted to engage the toy body, meansfor centering the seat member upon the supporting frame, and a fastening memberv movabl mounted upon the supporting frame an shiftabl'e into and out of engagement with vthe seat member. Y i U A 17. A toy vehicle'including 'a' mam s upporting frame, a. detachable toy body,` hook means for interlocking one end of the toy body with the..supportingframe, a separate seat member formed with a hook portion adapted to enga body, and a astening member vmovably [mounted upon the supporting, ame .and

`=shiftable into and outof engagementfyviththe seat member.

the opposite end of the toy 18. Atoy vehicle including a main supl porting frame, .adetachable toybody, hook means for interlocking one endof the toy body with the supporting frame, a separate seat memberformed with a hook portion adaptedto engage the opfosite end of .the toy bodyA and formedwit a slotted plate,

zand a locking boltfslidablymounted upon thesupporting frame'and movable into and out of engagement with the notched plate of the seat member.

19. :A toy' vehicle including a main su portin Aframe havin oeningstherein, a etacha o toy body, oo o connectinggone' end of the toy to the means' detachably.

supporting frame, a separate seat member formed with ahook portion adapted to engage the opposite end of the toy body and also formed With a notched plate, positioning ears carried by the seat member and adapted to engage the 'before mentioned openings of the supporting frame, and a locking member slidable upon the supporting frame and shiftable into and out of engagement with the notched plate of the seat member.

20. A toyl vehicle including a main supporting frame, a detachable toy body, hook means detachably connecting one end of the toy body to the supporting frame, a plate associated with the opposite end Vof the sup porting frame, and a fastening member movably mounted upon and carried by the supporting frame and shiftable into and out of engagement With the said plate.

21. A toy vehicle including a main supporting frame, a detachable toy body, hook means detachably connecting one end of the toy body to the supporting frame, a notched plate associated wlth opposite end of the toy body, and a fastening member slidably mounted upon the supporting frame and movable into and out of engagement with tween one end of the toy body and the supa detachable toy body, means at one end of the toy body for obtaining an interlocking connection with the chassis, a separate seat member provided with structurally integral means for detachably engaging the opposite end of thc toy body, and means for detachably securing the seat member to'the chassis.

24.. A toy vehicle including a chassis provided with a substantially flat bodyvreceiving scat and formed at the front thereof with imitation dash and engine hood, a series of interchangeable bodies which are of different designs and are each provided a base portion adapted to fit on said body receiving seat of the cl1assis,'tl1e design of each of the bodies being adapted to harmonize with the chassis and imitation hood to produce a toy vehicle of one particular 

